StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void Confirmed for 2015 Release
The final StarCraft II expansion, StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, will officially be coming out this year.
Rumors of Legacy of the Void's release date first popped up back in January, and during its quarterly call to investors, Activision Blizzard officially announced that the game will be launching later this year. However, no specific date was mentioned during the call.
Gamers who preorder Legacy of the Void get Whispers of the Oblivion for free. The prologue features the first Zeratul missions since Wings of Liberty and is available right now.
World of Warcraft Subscriptions Down to 5.6 Million
World of Warcraft has dropped another 1.5 million subscribers, Activision confirmed today.
The company stated during its quarterly earnings call that the long-running MMO is sitting at 5.6 million subscribers. This is down 1.5 million from 7.1 million in March 2015, a number which itself was down from 10 million. The nearly 3 million WoW subscriber loss was considered the biggest quarterly drop in the game's history.
Activision did note that a large non-expansion update called Fury of the Hellfire released near the end of the quarter, and helped to stabilize the subscriber numbers. It also said Blizzard revenues are up thanks to strong performance across its products, and that overall online players are up 50% year-over-year for Blizzard.
Gamers Have Played 2 Billion Hours of Destiny
Destiny players have played the game for over two billion hours total since launch.
Activision shared the news today during its quarterly investor call. Diving the time over Destiny's 20 million players, that averages out to about 100 hours of gameplay from each person.
Bungie is soon making a few major changes to the game. Destiny's leveling system will no longer use the light system, plus, all of Ghost's lines, performed by Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage, will be removed and replaced with lines from Nolan North.
Activision Blizzard Reports $1 Billion in Q2 Revenue
During a call with investors today, Activision Blizzard reported better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter of its fiscal year. It's GAAP revenues for Q2 came in at $1.04 billion USD.
Digital revenue for the company came in at a Q2-record 55% of total revenue, with $569 million coming in digitally. When the numbers are presented on a Non-GAAP basis, growth in digital sales year-over-year was 27%.
Still absent from the Activision Blizzard report were hard numbers on Destiny sales. The company mentioned the high attach rate for the House of Wolves expansion, and said the 20 million registered Destiny players have averaged 100 hours of gameplay each, but provided no other sales figures for the game.
Microsoft’s Entire Gamescom Conference in One Place
What a way to kick off Gamescom 2015! Microsoft held a massive press conference this morning and it rivaled their E3 conference pretty closely in terms of sheer volume and presentation. From the incredible gameplay demo of Platinum's Scalebound, to the announcement of Halo Wars 2, it was a packed show. Let's run down the highlights. If you want to watch the whole thing, just look up, and enjoy!
Homefront: The Revolution Release Window Revealed
Publisher Deep Silver announced today it is targeting a Spring 2016 release window for Homefront: The Revolution.
Deep Silver also announced a multiplayer beta for Homefront: The Revolution earlier today during Microsoft's Gamescom press conference. The beta will be available first on Xbox One this winter. Homefront: The Revolution is also coming to PlayStation 4, PC, Mac, and Linux.
Originally slated for release in 2015, Homefront: The Revolution was delayed to give developer Dambuster Studios additional time to work on the project, after it took over development from Crytek UK. “We are giving the team every opportunity to turn Homefront: The Revolution into a best-selling title, and have set a 2016 release date to provide them the time they need to achieve this," said Deep Silver CEO Dr. Klemens Kundratitz at the time of the delay.
Is Kraven the Villain of Marvel’s Spider-Man Reboot?
Kraven the Hunter might stalk the web-slinger on the silver screen in Marvel's Spider-Man reboot, according to a new rumor.
Heroic Hollywood claims Sony vice president of creative affairs Karen Moy recently purchased a copy of the comic Kraven's Last Hunt on Amazon. The site suggests this may signal that Sony is researching Kraven, aka Sergei Kravinoff, as a possible villain for the upcoming Spidey film, since Moy oversees the studio's story department.
Joel McHale Says Community is Over, Though Yahoo is Undecided
Community star Joel McHale was quoted in a recent interview saying that Community, after six seasons (the last one airing on Yahoo), is no more. Though Yahoo is now stating that nothing's been decided for sure.
In a sit-down with MetroWeekly, McHale was asked about the possibility of a seventh season of the series, answering "No.
wanted to. But all of our contracts were up after six years. All the actors on the show, almost without exception — their stock has risen significantly and it’s out of the pay rate that is affordable to make the show. So you’re not going to be able to get Alison Brie or Gillian Jacobs at a normal television salary anymore. There is just not enough money to be able to pay for the show."
Cuphead Is Hard Even When You Have Backup
It’s easy to get distracted playing Cuphead. One minute you’re fighting a giant mystical carrot, whose third-eye spews forth destructive rings of magic. The next moment you’re dodging away from fish wearing dog collars being hurled at you by a disgruntled pirate. It’s all gorgeously animated, of course – I love the way the carrot massages his head furiously, creating deep furrows just before he attacks – making it easy to lose focus on what you’re meant to be doing. I thought playing with a friend would make things easier, but that’s not necessarily true.
You can watch 5 minutes of new co-op Cuphead mayhem in the video above.
Second players control Mugman, whose is almost identical to Cuphead barring a few amusing animations. Before a boss fight, for instance, Mugman will take a hearty sip of himself before entering the fray, while Cuphead can be spotted pulling up his britches. They have almost identical move-sets, but having additional fire power doesn’t lessen the challenge of Cuphead whatsoever. Actually, without communication and a game plan, playing with a friend only elevates the level of chaos – immediately there are more projectiles ricocheting around what are already pretty small environments.
Outnumbered and Outgunned in Homefront: The Revolution
When your squad leader tells you to take out the incoming patrol, what are you going to do? You’re going to do it of course, because you’re the rookie resistance solider, the lowest ranking squaddie of the lot, so you do what you’re told. But when, minutes later, they tell you to get the hell out of there, make sure you do exactly that, because from my brief time with Homefront: The Revolution, one thing I learnt is sometimes the only way to survive is to run.
The Revolution is set two years after the original Homefront, with the United States now under occupation by the Greater Korean Republic. As protagonist Ethan Brady, you’re part of the resistance fighting back against your oppressors, but you’re heavily outnumbered and outgunned. The opening of the Gamescom demo demonstrates this perfectly, with Brady and a small team of rebels tasked with taking out a patrol. Stealth is key, moving silently through the derelict buildings and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Despite being an open-world game, this part is heavily scripted; the patrol walks straight into a trap, and taking out the armoured vehicle is as simple as waiting for the right moment to press X.